My 5 tips for first time travelers

One of the most common things that people say to me when I talk to them about traveling is; your so brave I could never go off like that by myself or I wouldn't even know where to start. Equally sad is when you hear about a fellow traveler's first experiences at being scammed, pick pocketed or ripped off over something that could have been avoided with a little more knowledge, street smarts or research. As someone whose done a fair amount of traveling by now here is my five tips for first time travelers.
 

1) Relax, you are not alone: I remember my first time sat alone in a hotel room in India, I had had a shit first day (India kinda specialises in that department) and I was wondering if I should just fly home. But instead I put on some music from an ipod that my friends had brought me and relaxed. The next day I found a backpackers cafe where I met a ton of awesome people and by the next week I was soaring through the Himalayas with a bunch of my fellow travelers. The truth is everyone worries that they won't make friends or have shit days when traveling. But there are (literally) tons of fellow backpackers just like you out there to befriend, party with or just cheer you up when your having a bad day, so don't stress and just go with the flow.

2) Please don't feed the touts: Doing just a bit of research can make a big difference to any trip, even if you don't have a travel guide try to read up on just some of the scams that are more common in each country. I remember just how annoying it was being led into a 'tourist office' only to leave in disgust after they tried to convince me my hotel wasn't safe and that for only £50 they could help me find a new one in  a better area. Some of the more common ones include being taken to a wrong (and more expensive) hotel or hostel by your tuk tuk driver, having people approach you in the street (usually with the chorus lines "Hello my friend, where you from, England?") being overcharged for a relatively short journey. Over time you'll develop a sense for this and get wise to any tricks that they might use on you. Having said all this...

3) Not every local you meet will be trying to rip you off: Speaking from experience, there are many many locals out there on the road who will be genuinely interested in you, want to help you and listen to what you have to say. With a little common sense you should be able to start being able tell the difference between the two (rip off merchants generally aren't that subtle).

4) Get tips from fellow traveler: Generally speaking if you're a touch unsure about where to go or what to do next your fellow travelers can be great sources of advice and guidance. They can tell you about cool places they found, things to avoid and where to get the best deals or give you ideas about experiences that you might want to try yourself at some point. You might even find yourself falling in with a few like minded travelers or groups for a little while if you like the idea of where they are headed. And remember conversely if you find yourself not enjoying the company you're with or the crowd that a particular place attracts you can always just got somewhere else.

5) Have fun but at the same time be safe: Traveling is fun and you should take the opportunity to enjoy yourself and have a good time. But at the same time theres nothing wrong with using a bit of common sense. Getting plastered can be awesome, getting plastered to the point you can't get home or lose all your stuff not so much. Be aware and use your common sense. The same is true when it comes to budgeting you can have all sorts of awesome experiences each day and still have a rough idea of how much you might want to spent  At the end of the day as with most things in life its about balance.

Hope this helps to get your travel juices going. After all its a big, fun world out there.